peters



. v [h2/mfom NAFETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON D C A ication.

. corridors, both` as a `iioor of a building, showing xfor Vclosingstair and.` hat'chyivays, showing antigas este ena.

l JAMEsfH; Marinetti/5N, or INDIAivAPoLIs,` `nnuaire.-

i p Letters PatentNo..102,954,daied May 101870.Y l'

Schedule referred 'co these Letters Patent. and making part' cf thesame.

I, JAMES MGKERAN, of Indianapolis, in the- `countyof Marion andState oi"Indiana, haveinvented certain Improvements inthe Mode of Operating theShutters, Closing the Stairways,1latcl1ways, and Gorriders of Buildings,of `which the following is a speci- Nature and 4Objects of theIvenlz'on. A My invention relates to the construction and inode i ofoperating horizontal "shutters over stairways and hatehways, andVertical shutters across the-corridors of buildings; and i i Itconsistsin the arrangement of chains or cords at- I tached to theshutters in `such a manner that said cords, being wound upon drums on avertical vshaft sitnated in proper positi0n,and extending throughout anydesired number of stories of the building, so thatv the"shutters 'of'either stairways, vhatchways, or corri# v` dors of all the doors may beoperated simultaneously,

or each one may be operated separately, as may be desired, the objectbeing to provide a ready means of closing-the openings in" the `severalfloors and halls or preventive to theloss of life and the extension oflires. i

Description of the Accompanying, Drawings. 1 Figure 1 is a verticalsection through a building, taken transversely of the corridory inwhichVthe stairand hatchways Ain the several floors, and also the corridorsare -furnished with shutters that are operated by means of the deviceembodying my invention.V

Figure 2 is a horizontal section or plan view of a a stairway andcorridor furnished `with shutters thatare operated by means of mydevice. y i Figure 3v is ardetail view of theV horizontal shutter oreclearly the-means employed for operating them. A Figure 4 is a vertical.transverse view of the corri dor of a building, showing the shutter forclosing it, and the arrangement of. the cords and pulleys Aforoperatingtheshutter. I y i y Figure 5 is a detail view ofthe drum and aportion of the vertical shaft by means of which the cords orchains arewound andthe' shutters areoperated.

Figure is au inverted viewof the shutters employed to cover the stairandhatchways.`

Figures 7 and 8 are detail viewsof the trnckson which the shuttersaresupportd and run. l

. General Descrtgm'on.

the under side, and horizontal friction-rollers, e, in the ends, soarranged that the shutters will move freely,`

with slight force applied to the wheel-cranks G.

The shutters are' made as ninch longer than the opening'as is necessaryto provide room to attach the rollers vB, so that they will run outsideof the opening.

The shutters maybe let intoa recess inthe floor, Y so as to be flushwith thev upper surface thereof', and

should be made to t to -theedges of the recess sui- "eiently close toprevent a draught of air through them when closed.

Tooperate the 'shutters A l'attach a cord, O, to the angle-iron at therear edge of the shutter, and

carry it forwardaround thc sheave or pulley D,'and.

from thence to one side of drumE on` the vertical shaft E; also,` acord, C', to the angle-iron at thc front edge of the shutter, whichpasses over the sheave D and under pulley d, to bring it in properposition to the opposite side of drum E.v When necessary to turn angles,as shown in gs. 2 and '3, the cords are'taken around horizontal pulleysH.

The sheaves D D are sosituated and arranged that they, and also thecords O C', Aare protected from exposure and liability to injury bybeing walked over.`

The vertical shaft F extendsvthrough any desired number of stories ofthe building, and is furnished with crank-wheels G, by which to turn iteithento the right or left, as may be desired, to` open or -close the shutp ters, and is made in sections that are coupled together at eachdoor by a sliding or adjustable coupling, J, so arranged that thesections of. the shaft in any story may be coupled with or uncoupled`from `the lsection above or below itz so that the shutters of eitherfloor or story `may be operated separately, or the shutters of all the-oors maybe operated simultaneously, as may be desired.

I are guide-arms, Y attached to a nut, c, working freely on ascrew-thread eut on the shaft F. These `arms have eyes at their outerends through which the cords C C pass, and are Adesigned to lay thecords properly on the drums E as they are wound up, either in opening orclosing the shutter, and also to prevent the cords'frm slipping off thedrum in case theyvbecome slack.

The anti-friction rollers B are constructed and arranged in nests offive each, as shown in figs. 7 and 8, and are attached to the corners ofthe shutters A,las shown in g. 6. Similar trucks are attached to thecorners of the bottom edge of tlievert-ical'shutters K.

Vertical shutters K, arranged to close the corridors or passagesthroughbuildings, may be i operatedV in a similar manner, as shown in fig. 4.

.The advantages claimed for-the construction, arrangement, mode ofoperating the shutters of-stair and hatchways and corridors of'buildings as herein described are, that the shutters being arranged soas to. be very conveniently closed, either singly or on any floor, orthroughout the entire building simultaneously, as may be desired, thehatchesare more likely to be closed afterbeing used during the day,thereby avoiding injury or loss of life by persons falling through them,as too often occurs, and also serving as a ready means of shutting ofi'draughts of air through the buildings in case of fire, therebypreventing loss of property, besides beiug a great security aganstthcspread of fires, by having the stairs, hatches, and corridors closed at.night, as the labor of closing one is little'less than closing all thestairs, hatches, and corridors in abnilding.

Claims.

I claim as my invention- 1. The arrangement of the cords or chains CG',at tached to the shutters A and K, in combination with the sheaves orpulleys D D', d, and H, drum E, and vertical shaft F, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

2. The vertical shaft F, provided with the drum E, crank-wheels G,coupling J, and guide-arms I, attached to a nut a, all constructed andarranged substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

,J AMES H. MCKERNAN.

Witnesses:

O. F. MAYHEW, G. A. Summa.

